Cloud computing has become one of the fastest-emerging technologies in the IT industry. Though this technology has been around for quite some time, its need and usage has significantly grown in the recent past, specifically during COVID. Considering this upward trend, cloud computing is expected to be most used technology in 2023 and beyond.
As threats have evolved in its own sophisticated way with new set of attacks, it’s become more important than ever for businesses to prioritize data security to face the current uncertainties and in-between growing vulnerabilities. Because of the growing demand in cloud technologies for its level of scalability, availability and ambiguity in today’s growing technology platform, there is a wide range of geographical areas, organizations, cybersecurity professionals, cloud security engineers and cloud security models working towards overcoming various cloud computing security issues and challenges.
In this article, we’ll explore some of today’s top security challenges in cloud computing and what are the trends growing in this platform to gear in for the steadfast secured environment. There is no doubt that Cloud Computing provides various benefits but there are some security challenges that the organizations are facing in the recent times.
As per recent surveys and studies, let’s have a look at the major cloud security challenges and some of the interesting stats:
- The Cloud Computing market is anticipated to reach over $1 trillion by 2028.
- As per stats, an organization can save up to 40 percent by migrating to cloud computing.
- Reports have found that there is a significant increase in cyber incidents / data breaches more in cloud compared to on-premises.
- Recent studies have also called out the significance in the organization’s adoption of cloud computing to around 60-70% on an average in 2022.
The Biggest Cloud Security Challenges in 2022:
- Data Loss –
Data Loss is one of the issues faced in Cloud Computing. This is also known as Data Leakage. Robust data protection controls are in need to enable as we don’t have full control over our database. Security plays a key role in creating a security layer to block hackers from accessing the data or personal files while trying to enter the network.
- Compliance with Regulatory Mandates
The compliance requirements have increased globally and mandating the organisations to comply with the required standard, laws, and privacy acts. It is the responsibility of the organisation to ensure 100% compliance and preserve its integrity and reputation in the industry. Failure to compliance may lead to high penalties and reputation loss.
- DDoS Attacks
DDoS attacks have increased in recent times on cloud affecting a machine or a network to fail, making it no longer accessible to users and creating potential damage. Malicious attackers try to send some malicious code or suspicious data to the target device/system that triggers the system to shut down with traffic and devastate.
- Insider Threats
The risks associated with employees and others working within an organization's network are highly vulnerable inside organizations and it’s not limited to any attack surface. Whether neglectful or intentional, employees/contractors/partners/3rd parties are one of the highly influenced victims by the hackers. They get preyed through social engineering, phishing emails, vishing calls and many other ways causing data loss, cyber-attacks, cyber-crimes, reputation loss, financial and data breaches.
- Insecure Interfaces and APIs
Cloud service providers open a set of software user interfaces (UIs) and APIs to allow customers to manage and interact with cloud services. The overall capability of cloud has a high dependency on the security of these APIs. Various security controls like encryption of data, endpoint security, access controls, security monitoring, data protection must be designed to safeguard the data against malicious codes and malwares. Unavailability of strong security controls or misconfiguration of controls would lead to a cyber incident or a potential data breach affecting the enterprise critical data.
- Misconfigurations and lack of Awareness
Cloud infrastructure is optimized for accessibility and data sharing, making it difficult for cybersecurity professionals to ensure that only authorized parties can access data. When assets are set up incorrectly or misconfigured, they are highly vulnerable in nature and prone to various cyber-attacks. A failure to understand the need for security controls can lead to misconfigurations and in turn inviting the malicious hackers to exploit the critical network.
Latest trends expected to develop on cloud computing in 2023:
- AI and ML integration into cloud computing
- Kubernetes and Docker to manage cloud deployment
- Data security on cloud computing
- Hybrid cloud solutions
- Cloud cost optimization
- Multi-Cloud Adoption
Each challenge is different and therefore requires distinctive solutions. We need to take precautionary measure and enable cloud security controls for making sure that vulnerabilities are blocked and handled in a very secured manner. In addition to the above trends, other trends like data protection, risk quantification, cloud monitoring, and disaster recovery also will be witnessed in the Cloud Computing space in 2023.
